7 Yoga Poses for an Open Chest and Shoulders

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Add these asanas to your practice for proud posture, enhanced mobility, and an open heart.
JULY 30, 2022
TAMARA Y. JEFFRIES
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I really try not to think about how many hours I spend hunched over my desk. When I’m done with that, I spend my free time propped up in bed or slouched on the couch with a book. I’m a side sleeper, too, which means I spend the night basically folded in half. So when my shoulders curve and my upper chest feels tight and caved in, I don’t have to wonder why.
While my posture, in general, isn’t terrible—thanks to yoga asana practice—my shoulder-forward habits may be training my body toward hyperkyphosis, the dreaded “dowager’s hump.”
That’s what happens when you habitually move in a certain way or hold your body in a certain position. Your body will begin to take on that shape, says Arturo Peal, a yoga teacher and anatomy expert based in New Orleans.
“All forms of connective tissue respond to stresses put on them,” he explains. “[They] respond to the pull of gravity and to the pull of muscles and tendons on them.”
He gives the example of musicians’ bodies. “I can look at a musician’s posture and see they have their left shoulder forward, their head is slightly rotated to the left. They’re probably a violinist or violist,” he says. “That’s [from] hours and hours of sitting in the same position.”
Yoga for counteracting poor posture
Yoga can be a brilliant tool for counteracting these habitual postures, he says. Throwing your shoulders back doesn’t stregthen your posture; an open chest and broad collarbone convey confidence and optimism.
“Doing full ranges of movement is really important,” Peale says. Fortunately, the shoulder is the most flexible joint in your body; you can move it in every direction.
And to release tightness across my upper chest—the area in front of the shoulder and just below my collar bone where the pectoral muscles attach–I’m adding poses that counter that forward pull. These asanas involve reaching back to employ the full range of motion in my shoulders. Here are seven poses I can add to my practice so I can stay proud of my posture.
Bitilasana (Cow Pose)
Begin in Tabletop with your hips directly over your knees and your hands slightly ahead of your shoulders, shoulder distance apart. Your wrist creases should be parallel to the front of your mat.
Press down firmly through your hands.
Inhale and arch your back by lowering your belly, lifting your chin and sternum, and broadening your collarbones.
Keep the back of your neck long and your core slightly toned to find more movement in the mid and upper back. Broaden across your shoulder blades and draw your shoulders down, away from your ears.
To release the pose, return to a neutral spine. Practice Marjaryasana (Cat Pose) as a counter pose.
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